The Return
by lovetoflip
Summary: Elizabeth returns home from Iran different than she left. Henry begins to get frustrated. This is MY take on how the episodes after Iran could have gone, including some liberties I took with things not shown in the show. I will add chapters as I finish them. Please let me know what you think.


Notes:  set right after she returned from Iran, changed the Jason/bodyguard storyline a little

**CHAPTER 1**

Henry opened his eyes to a dark bedroom. He looked over to the clock, smiling as he realized it was only two am, meaning he could sleep for at least 4 more hours. He closed his eyes and rolled to his left side, reaching for the warmth of his wife in the bed next to him but felt only the cold sheets. He opened his eyes, looking for the light under the bathroom door, and sitting up in bed when he realized he was alone in the room. Henry threw the covers back, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, stood and made his way to the door. As he walked slowly down the hallway, then stairs, he scanned the dark house for any sign of his wife. Henry reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Elizabeth's desk light shining through the office doors. He walked into the office, discovering his wife asleep on her desk, drooling on whatever document she thought she could get through before going to bed. He was surprised to see her sleeping, knowing she hadn't been since she returned home. Although he knew it probably had more to do with her being exhausted than with her feeling relaxed and at peace enough to sleep. He made his way over to her desk, stopping when he reached her side.

"_Elizabeth."_ He whispered quietly, observing the late hour, while lightly shaking her shoulder. She startled awake, sitting up quickly.

"_It's okay babe, it's just me." _He tried to calm her, internally kicking himself for startling her.

"_What time is it?"_ She blinked groggily as she tidied up the massive amount of papers on her desk.

"_A little past two."_ Henry grabbed her right hand, stilling her movements. _"Come on, come up to bed."_ He pulled gently on her hand, pulling her up and dragging her behind him as he made his way toward the stairs.

When they reached the bedroom, Elizabeth around to her side of the bed and fell face first onto the bed, laying across both sides. Henry giggled at her dramatics, sitting on the end of the bed next to her head, running his fingers through her hair.

"_Come on babe, get in your pjs and we can cuddle for a few hours until we have to get up."_

"_Ughh." _Her voice muffled by the bedding. Henry chuckled as she drug herself out of the bed, toward the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom showered, in one of his old shirts and shorts. She crawled across him in the bed, getting to her side and slipping under the covers. She laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Henry slid his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him until she collided with his body.

"_It will all be there tomorrow."_ He said looking at her tired eyes. _"Let's just go to sleep and you can go back to saving the world tomorrow." _He kissed her cheek and she rolled in his arms to her left side.

"_Goodnight." _Elizabeth closed her eyes as she got comfortable on her side. Henry reached to pull her closer to him, but she flinched at his touch. Rolling back to her back, he let go, his face falling as he remembered that he couldn't cuddle with his wife like he used to. He placed his arm across her middle, moving in a little closer to her but still giving her space. He watched as she closed her eyes.

"_Goodnight gorgeous."_ He responded as her lavender shampoo filled his senses.

Elizabeth opened her eyes again, staring at the ceiling above her. She laid there thinking about all the things she needed to do in the morning before going into work. She was exhausted but couldn't shut her brain off. She closed her eyes again, listening to the sound of bombs exploding in her head. Her body finally succumbed to the exhaustion and she fell asleep in her husband's arms.

The alarm pierced through Henry's head. He rolled to turn it off. _5:30am._ He rolled back, looking for his wife, who again not present. He got up, got dressed, and walked down the back staircase to the kitchen. He found his Elizabeth at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee, glancing over a report while listening to her youngest talk about some book report he had. He walked up behind her, touching her back, bending down to kiss the top of her head. She flinched slightly at the contact, catching the attention of their son, but Henry continued as if it was normal. He hoped she would become desensitized to it again the more he did it. She stood, saying her goodbyes to her son and husband, grabbing her coffee cup and heading out the door. It didn't go unnoticed by Henry or Jason that she didn't kiss or hug either one of them goodbye. Henry watched her disappear out the door then turned back to his son.

"_Okay Jace, grab your bag and let's go."_

"_How's mom doing?"_ Jason looked to his father to gauge his reaction to his blunt question. Henry thought for a second, then responded, _"She's doing better buddy, just needs a chance to catch up on her rest." _He told Jason what he hoped the truth was for Elizabeth rather than the darker reality. _"Come on, Jace, we got to go." _He shooed his son out the door to the car.

He spent the entire ride thinking about his wife. When he dropped Jason off at school, he stopped to have a quick chat with Jason's new bodyguard.

"_Hello Dr. McCord."_ The man extended his hand to shake Henry's hand as he greeted him.

"_Henry, please." _He shook the man's hand warmly. _"I just wanted to ask you a quick question."_

"_Yes sir. About Jason?"_

"_No, no. You served right?"_

"_Yes sir. Two tours."_

"_Right. Did a lot of your buddies come back with PTSD? I was a fighter pilot so many had something similar but since you were on the front lines of the action, I thought I'd pick your brain."_

"_Yes sir. I think all of us came back with some form of it."_

"_What did that look like?"_

"_Like the symptoms?" _Henry nodded his head. _"There were a lot of symptoms that showed up different in everyone, sir. Sleepless nights, jumpy at noises or contact, unexplained mood swings, unexplained anger, panic attacks, etc."_

"_Thank you. I'd appreciate if you kept this between the two of us."_

"_Yes sir." _

Henry went back to his car as the bodyguard returned to his post at the classroom door Jason was behind.


End file.
